The night in question was a specially sanctioned event in an abandoned railway warehouse in Perth which had been transformed into a state-of-the-art training facility.

Hooker had been struck by a crippling case of the yips over the previous 12 months and was struggling to qualify for the London Olympic Games.

Time was running out to defend his crown but on his second attempt at his hometown training venue he cleared the required 5.72m.

“That was the worst time leading into that competition,” Hooker said.

“But that night in Perth with all my mates in the training facility, it was just an awesome night and meant a lot to me.”

Hooker is this week being inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and he’s using the dinner to say thank you to those who helped him reach the pinnacle of world sport.

On his table will be his first coach Mark Stewart, alongside Alex Parnov the man who took him to Olympic glory, his long-time agent Maurie Plant and parents Erica and Bill, themselves former Australian athletics representatives.

“You think about how important these people were, they gave you the opportunity.

“The way it all wrapped up for me, I really disappeared after London to go across to America and then I sort of retired quietly.

“I feel like I have had enough (congratulations) so for me this night is all about them and saying thank you.”

It’s also a night for the Australian sporting fraternity to say thank to one of its greats with Hooker’s CV one of the best.

For a four-year stretch he dominated his event, joining the six-metre club and then becoming Olympic champion in 2008.

He would become one of the few to simultaneously hold the Olympic, indoor and outdoor world championships, Commonwealth Games and world cup titles.

Hooker is among our very best athletes. Picture: APSource:News Limited

Following the gold in Beijing, Hooker lost just twice over the next 20 months of competition, which included winning the 2009 world championship in Berlin with an injured adductor.

“I had no plan to win at any point during that competition,” Hooker admitted.

“Initially I thought, I might just see if I could make the final — and that was just me being stubborn to be honest.”

Hooker, the CEO of property development company the Resimax Group, has kept in touch with his sport, mentoring a select group of young athletes while also sitting on the Australian Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission.

He was at the Rio Olympics as part of the Channel Seven commentary team and likes what he sees in 20-year-old Adelaide vaulter Kurtis Marschall, who finished seventh at this year’s world championships in London.

“He’s legit, he is the real deal,” Hooker said.

“He has an X-factor. You can see he loves it, you can see he gets up for it and you can see that he’s not afraid.”

Which is exactly the description used on a young kid from Melbourne a decade ago by the name of Steve Hooker.